Havana, October 20 (RHC-PL) -- Today, Cubans remember the 147th anniversary of their National Anthem and also celebrate National Culture Day, as a tribute to the first time that anthem of struggle was heard publicly.

On October 20, 1868, just 10 days after Carlos Manuel de Cespedes rose up in arms against Spanish rule, the anthem was first sung in the eastern city of Bayamo.

"La Bayamesa," as it was originally named, was composed by Pedro Figueredo (Perucho), and the currently known piece is a small, but energetic version of that anthem. This war march was a call to arms of the "Mambises" (guerrillas who fought Spanish colonization) from the independence struggles with the principle that "To die for the Homeland is to live."

To celebrate the date, every year since 1994, Bayamo holds the Cubanness Festival, dedicated to keep alive the traditions of this island and expressions of the national idiosyncrasy.

Screenings of films and audiovisual shows, exhibitions of folk and traditional crafts, book sales, concerts, theater performances and art exhibitions, make up the agenda of the celebrations.